4 Road Trip Essentials

Peyton and I enjoy taking weekend road trips throughout the year. We even take a few trips that are a week long too. But there is more to having an enjoyable road trip than picking a destination and heading out. Besides making sure your vehicle is in it’s best shape and getting any routine vehicle maintenance done before you head out, you’ll want to bring along a few comforts from home as well.

Snacks

Snacks are a must have for any road trip. If you’re a mom with little ones you are probably pretty good at grabbing travel-friendly snacks but for those of us with older children let me give you a few pointers. While chips are a staple on many of our road trips I do require them to be as mess free as possible. For me, that means no cheesy chips or chips with a heavy flavor coating. That coating makes a mess!

Trail mix is another wonderful option but do not buy the ones with little pieces of chocolate unless they have a candy-coated shell. That chocolate will melt while you are out enjoying an attraction and you’ll be left with a big chocolatey mess.

Small Cooler

I try and keep a small cooler in our vehicle at all times. They come in really handy when you are running errands.  But when we are taking a road trip I like to use our little cooler that plugs in. Then I can have cold water any time I want. Believe me, this comes in handy when you are on a secluded road and are thirsty.  There are times there will not be any places to stop at and get a beverage so make sure you have a few bottles of water for each person traveling with you as well as your favorite shelf stable beverage.

Sunglasses

This one may seem like a no brainer but you’d be surprised at how many times we have set off and forgotten sunglasses. Now, I keep a small tote in the backseat with a few pair of sunglasses. It came in handy last summer when Peyton accidentally dropped my sunglasses in the lion exhibit while on a road trip in Omaha. I just had to take a quick trip to the car and pick out a new pair.

First Aid Kit

Before you head out on any road trip you should always check your first aid kit and refill any items that you are running low on or may be out of.  Never fails that you will have a need for a band-aid when children are present so you’ll want to make sure you have some on hand.